I'm older now, and simple beer pleasures are the most meaningful to me. They tend to be encountered locally. It is my aim to get unplugged and explore some of them, slowly and thoughtfully. I'd tell you where it's leading, except that I've no idea ... and that's the whole point of the journey: To find out.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Part 1: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ).

Here is a preview of the "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)" section of the NABC web site, which Jay Tyler and I are in the process of revamping.

Q. When will it be finished?

A. Don't ask.

a. Hey, Rich, how about another beer ... uh, you’re Rich, right?

My income level is none of your business, and my name is not Rich. It is Roger. No one in my family is named Rich, either. Actually, Rich was the original owner of the business, and its namesake dating back to 1990. Only his name remains.

b. I seem to remember a long time ago that you were thinking about changing the name from Rich O’s to something else. Now I see that the doorway says “Public House” without the “Rich O’s.” What gives?

Way back during Bill Clinton’s first term, we considered a name change, and we even had a contest to solicit a new one. Nothing came of it, but recently we decided to gradually permit the Rich O’s name to whither away, and to encourage our customers to think of us as the New Albanian Brewing Company, with a Public House and Pizzeria – hence the doorway art you’ve seen when visiting.

Just for kicks, here are some of our favorite entries from the long ago name change contest (A to Z):

No, and we have no plans to do so barring a decision to have a beer or two contract-brewed for us elsewhere at a brewery built for the job. Bottling is the reason why so many brewers go swimming in a pitcher of their own beer – sometimes during business hours.

d. Can we get NABC beer in (fill in name of state)?

No, unless the name of the state is Indiana, where we are legally permitted to self-distribute. In Indiana, you can get NABC beer by the growler at our Public House and Pizzeria, or by the glass at one of (NABC’s off-premise accounts)(link). We maintain a Kentucky distribution agreement solely to participate in the annual Brew at the Zoo celebration. We do not ship beer through the mail or parcel delivery services.

e. Is it supposed to be served this warm?

We’d dearly love to be able to serve all our beers at the proper temperature, but this is complicated immensely by the fact that we're using seven separate refrigeration units to store them. I used to try and keep the beers in the 45-degree (F) range, and still prefer them to be kept this way when possible, but to be honest, it doesn’t always work out that way.

In general terms, the colder a liquid is, the less you'll be able to taste it, and while mass-market swill is enhanced by the suppression of the drinker's taste buds, better beers are not. Take our word for it: Once you grow accustomed to good beer served cool, and not ice-cold, you'll never go back to frosted mugs of insipid MGD.